U.S. should rethink role in North Africa

The 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement and 19th Century reach of European imperialism created many nation states America is determined to defend. One of the goals of Islamic Jihad and groups aligned with al-Qaida is to demolish all the boundaries and national sovereignties created by Western colonialism.

In perusing maps of North Africa and the Middle East, it's clear that countries we take for granted are not always viewed that way by the jihadists. Sadly, my tax dollars are being spent propping up these nations, their sovereignty and also to spread the alien philosophy of democracy.

It would be wise for the State Department and other European "experts" to accept this truth instead of struggling to keep the status quo solidly in place.

I'm sorry about the murder of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and the other Americans, but perhaps the jihad against us would cease if America ended its effort to police the world. Maintaining the boundaries of countries created by long gone European colonialists is a dangerous enterprise and one we need to stay away from.